From the Recruiting Trail: A visit with Offensive Tackle Raymond Pulido after Offer from Ole Miss
At St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California, things are finally back to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic altered activities and caused the Braves to go two years without spring football workouts. Rising senior offensive tackle Raymond Pulido is taking full advantage of his gridiron time and on April 28 was offered a scholarship by Ole Miss.
after a great conversation with the @OleMissFB coaches i am happy to say that i have a offer to @OleMissFB @DannyLockhartS1 @CoachR_Sandoval @Lanthonymorales @CoachDane1 @CoachThornton61 @charlieweissr pic.twitter.com/ZEA9CnDBuC
— raymondpulido79 (@raymondpulido55) April 28, 2022
This past Wednesday St. John Bosco held its spring college showcase, giving an opportunity for more than 100 of its players to showcase their skills to coaches in attendance from 65 colleges and universities.
What the Braves are doing is working; in the last five years, the program has seen 69 of its student-athletes go on to play football at 43 different colleges.
Add Pulido to the list of talented athletes who will play at the next level.
Raymond Pulido aka Big Ray has to be one of the most strongest OL I’ve ever met. At 6’7” 355lbs he moves amazing at that size. He’s a mauler. Swallow you up with those long mammoth arms. At THE FRONT it’s obviously clear, he has the size and ability to play on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/h7rHPPnSW7
— Big Dave Uiagalelei (@DUiagalelei) March 16, 2022
It’s easy to see why the 6-foot-7, 355-pound offensive lineman has offers from Tennessee, Louisville, Miami, UCLA, Arizona, Maryland, Washington and Washington State — and why the Rebels have made the offer.
Pulido, who played his his last two seasons at Apple Valley (Calif.) before transferring in to Bosco in the off-season, could potentially also move inside and play guard in college.
The advent of the transfer portal and the one-time transfer in college football have made it important for high schools to get more creative in finding ways to offer better exposure for their athletes.
Spring practices at the high school level are no longer just conditioning and practices; schools, like St. John Bosco, are hosting their own recruiting events for coaches and media over the course of their spring workouts.
Here’s Pulido on May 11 at the Braves’ showcase.
From earlier at St. John Bosco. Offensive lineman Raymond Pulido getting in some work with a bunch of coaches looking on.
He’s got official visits set for UCLA and Louisville. Alabama and Arizona are also in good shape to earn OVs from the 2023 recruit. pic.twitter.com/AudUvos6Sf
— Matt Moreno (@MattRMoreno) May 12, 2022
Pulido currently ranks as the No. 53 OT in the 2023 class and the No. 73 overall athlete out of the Golden State. You can bet he and Ole Miss commit Jordan Lockhart are ready to lead their team to as St. John is projected to be the number one team in southern California this fall.
The Rebel Walk visited with Pulido in an exclusive interview recently to talk about his recruitment and his offer from Ole Miss.
A Visit with Raymond Pulido
Rebel Walk: You have really burst onto the scene as one of your class’ top linemen. What did it mean to you to earn an SEC offer from Ole Miss?
Pulido: It felt great! It feels like being at Bosco is helping me take bounds as a player and a recruit.
Rebel Walk: What has stood out to you about the way the coaches and Ole Miss have recruited you?
Pulido: I love the energy they were giving and that has only been through the phone. I would love to get out soon to see them in person.
Rebel Walk: Will you be taking any visits or camping in Oxford?
Pulido: I believe I am heading out sometime in June, but not sure on when though.
Rebel Walk: What is your x-factor skillset that you think makes you stand out as one of the top o-linemen?
Pulido: I want to be known for locking people up and finishing through. I work pretty hard on my grip strength so I can never let go when I latch on.
Rebel Walk: Do you have a timetable as to your commitment of narrowing down your top schools?
Pulido: I’m thinking sometime between August and November, but unsure as of the date.
Rebel Walk: What is your go-to jam this off season?
Pulido: My go to jam is probably got to be ‘Coming Undone’ by Korn.
Rebels, you can expect more offers will be rolling out over the next few weeks for the nation’s top talent like Raymond Pulido.
Stay tuned for recruiting updates here at The Rebel Walk, and follow Lee Ann Herring on Twitter for all the latest.
(Feature image graphic: Lee Ann Herring, The Rebel Walk)
Lee Ann Herring-Olvedo
Herring-Olvedo sees college football the way championship programs do—from inside the personnel room. Every evaluation, every roster move, every recruiting battle tells a bigger story about identity, culture, and how a program is built to win in December, not just July.
With more than 15 years covering the SEC and the national recruiting landscape, Herring-Olvedo has built a reputation as one of the sport’s most respected personnel-driven voices—blending film evaluation, roster construction, and long-term program vision through a true front-office lens. Her coverage of powerhouse brands like Ole Miss Rebels and Kentucky Wildcatshas consistently gone beyond headlines, focusing instead on the blueprint behind winning programs: development, fit, culture, and recruiting strategy.
That foundation was formed early at Brown University, where she worked in player personnel and recruiting while competing as a student-athlete. Inside those recruiting operations rooms, she learned how elite organizations are truly built—through relentless evaluation, relationship building, projection, and trust in the board. Those experiences shaped the way she studies the game today: part scout, part storyteller, part architect.
Her analysis and reporting have appeared across major platforms including ESPN, NFL coverage spaces, USA Today Sports, and Saturday Down South. She also brought her personnel-minded approach to the airwaves as an on-air analyst for the Wake Up 502 College Football Show on Big X Sports Radio 96.1, where she became known for combining film-room detail with a wider understanding of roster identity and program trajectory.
In 2025, covering the rise of Houston Cougars football under Willie Fritz reignited the part of the sport that first drew her into football—the culture, the edge, the belief that a roster can reshape an entire city. That inspiration led to the launch of Coogs 365 Sports, a platform built to cover Houston athletics through a true scouting and recruiting lens while connecting the emotion of the game to the heartbeat of H-Town.
Now, Herring-Olvedo returns to The Rebel Walk where with an even deeper perspective shaped by years inside recruiting circles, national SEC coverage, and hands-on evaluation experience. Her return brings a familiar voice back to Ole Miss coverage—but with an evolved lens rooted in roster architecture, player development, and the modern realities of building championship-caliber football in the NIL and portal era.
For Herring-Olvedo, recruiting has never been about stars beside a name. It is about identifying competitors, projecting growth, and building a locker room capable of sustaining success. Her philosophy mirrors the best front offices in football: stack traits, trust culture, and never stop building.
